When Chenfeng Duan goes back to his parents' home in China, he's peppered with questions about his experience studying abroad at a university in the U.S.

"How much does it cost to attend an American university?" some ask the University of Iowa sophomore. "Are the people friendly? Is it safe?"

"Chinese parents want to send their child abroad to study," said Duan, 19, whose family lives in Anhui province in eastern China. "They have a lot of questions."

A decade ago, American universities and colleges often were the only ones considered when students from China, India and elsewhere around the world made decisions on where to study abroad.

Chenfeng Duan(Photo: Kathy A. Bolten)

Now, worldwide competition for international students is on the rise, especially from Germany, Canada and Australia, whose leaders want to bolster shrinking workforces. Those countries have made it easier for international students to work in their countries after graduation, while the U.S. has put on greater constraints.

Coupled with the rising tuition in the U.S., the result has been a drop in international students attending colleges and universities in Iowa and across the U.S. And university officials worry their institutions could suffer as a consequence.

“International students do so much more than create diverse atmospheres on our campuses,” said Thomas Harnisch, state relations and policy analysis director for the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “They contribute billions to our economy. Jobs are created.

Students eat lunch in a foodcourt on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, at the Old Capitol Town Center, in Iowa City.(Photo: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

“If we continue to see declines in their enrollment, it will hurt our economy.”

Last March, 1.2 million international students were enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions, a .5 percent drop from the previous year, according to a quarterly U.S. Department of Homeland Security report.

The decline has been sharper at Iowa’s three state universities. After beginning an upward climb in 2007, international enrollment reached a record 8,777 in fall 2015.

Since then, those numbers have fallen to 7,207 this fall, an 18 percent drop.

The impact of international students is significant.

In 2016-17, international students studying in the U.S. contributed $36.9 billion to the economy and supported more than 450,000 jobs, according to data collected by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a nonprofit group located in Washington, D.C.

The group estimates that for every seven international students enrolled in the U.S., three jobs are created through spending on higher education, daily living expenses, transportation and health care.

In Iowa, the nearly 12,500 international students studying at the state’s public and private colleges and universities contributed $378.5 million to the economy and supported 3,721 job creations, NAFSA's report says.

But, with fewer international students attending U.S. schools, concerns exist not only about the economic impact but also the effect on U.S. students who benefit from being exposed to international cultures.

"We need to offer the student who comes here — whether from Iowa or from outside of the state — the opportunity to experience a campus that has diverse ideas and diverse perspectives," said Phil Plourde, executive director of UNI’s Office of International Programs. "They get that broad range of perspectives when we’re able to bring people from other countries onto our campus."

That will be increasingly difficult if enrollment continues to fall. A snapshot shows that at:

University of Iowa, 3,056 international undergraduate, graduate, professional and doctoral students are enrolled this fall — 26 percent fewer than in 2015. The institution has fewer students from China, South Korea, Malaysia and several European countries, mostly impacting UI's colleges of business, engineering and liberal arts. UI is collecting about $20 million less in tuition and fees from its undergraduate international students than it did in 2015.

Iowa State University, 3,671 international students are enrolled in all levels of academic programming this fall — 8 percent fewer than in 2015. Nearly all of Iowa State’s decline can be attributed to about 460 fewer students from China. ISU is collecting about $5 million less in tuition and fees from its undergraduate international students than in 2015.

University of Northern Iowa has 480 international undergraduate and graduate students enrolled this fall — a 22 percent drop from 2015. It has fewer students from Brazil, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. And UNI is collecting at least $2 million less in tuition and fees from its undergraduate international students than in 2015.

Grinnell College has seen a 25 percent increase in international student enrollment. This fall, 323 students from other countries are at the private Iowa college, compared with 259 in 2015.

The increase "reflects Grinnell’s dedication to celebrating diverse perspectives and promoting global understanding," Joe Bagnoli, Grinnell's vice president for enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid, wrote in an email to the Des Moines Register.

State university officials don’t anticipate a quick turnaround in international student enrollment.

Katharine Johnson Suski(Photo: Special to the Register)

In fall 2017, Iowa State had about 1,400 admission applications from international students; this fall, there are 1,100, said Katharine Johnson Suski, ISU’s director of admissions.

“We should not always think of international students as a set pipeline of students who are always going to be there,” she said. “We have to realize that it’s a very volatile population as far as enrollment is concerned.

“You never know what’s going to impact their decisions on where to attend college.”

Officials at the University of Iowa are hopeful their decline has bottomed out.

Downing Thomas(Photo: Kathy A. Bolten)

This fall, enrollment of freshmen and transfer students from other countries is up 11 percent from a year ago, said Downing Thomas, associate provost and dean of U of I’s International Programs.

Still, he said, “It’s going to be increasingly challenging environment to attract international students to our campus.”

The university is stepping up its recruitment of students in growing countries in Africa such as Nigeria as well as in Central and South America.

Luckily, "the state of Iowa continues to be perceived as a very safe environment for our college towns," Thomas said. "Parents feel comfortable sending their child here."

Economic contributions

In 2016-17, the nearly 12,500 international students studying at Iowa’s public and private universities contributed $378.5 million to the state’s economy through such things as paying tuition and fees, daily living expenses and transportation, according to data collected by the NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a non-profit group based in Washington, D.C. The following shows the five Iowa institutions with the highest economic contributions from international students: